From that day on, Ayyappan spent all his time in front of Dhamu’s shop. Whenever his friends gathered around, Dhamu said to him, “Ayyappan, what were you asking Khader the other day? Oil or comb or something? Come on, tell us!” Ayyappan would launch into the story about Khader’s mistresses and the talcum powder right away. Every time he told that story, Dhamu laughed long and hard like it was the first time he was hearing it. When Ayyappan was done with the story, Dhamu slapped him genially on the back and said, “Chee! That’s too much. You have become too cheeky!” Like a dog enjoying a pat from its master, Ayyappan would cheerfully receive Dhamu’s slaps on his back. Once his friends left, Dhamu would toss a half-rupee coin toward him. “Go have some coffee.” Ayyappan would take it and walk away.

When Khader brought down the cigarette supply, the Betel Merchants’ Association convened an emergency meeting of its action committee. Dhamu gave a fiery speech at this meeting. Some members were of the opinion that the association should send a letter of warning to Khader, but Dhamu denounced this as a cowardly gesture and an insult to the association’s standing. He also could not agree with the other suggestion that the association should form a committee to negotiate with Khader. He argued that the association should inform the cigarette company’s Bombay headquarters of what had happened and get them to send one of their representatives to town. This way, they could learn about Khader’s outrageous behavior and the cigarette agency could be taken off his hands.

Dhamu laid out his arguments in great detail. “We didn’t cave to the mighty British Empire. Wouldn’t it be a disgrace to surrender to a small foe like Khader?!” he asked, and the members applauded in agreement. Dhamu emphasized that he had no intention of securing the cigarette agency for himself and that, in fact, he was willing to stake his body, wealth, and soul—all three—in making sure that another member of the association took over the agency. The president of the association, Rajapandiya Nadar, stood up to clarify on behalf of all the members that nobody doubted Dhamu’s integrity, so he should not hurt the association by imputing bad intentions to them. Dhamu expressed his apologies. Being excitable was one of his weaknesses, he said meekly, and asked for their forgiveness.

A telegram was sent to the Bombay headquarters, in the name of around three hundred members of the association. They also received a return telegram, stating that the company would send down a special representative within twenty-four hours.

Khader went to receive that representative at the Thiruvananthapuram airport. Dhamu, his minions, and Isakki, a reporter from the Travancore Nesan, all came by another car. Dhamu presented the representative with a garland of roses and welcomed him on behalf of the association.